"Smart" mailboxes equipped with sensors could automatically scan a parcel's barcode and generate an electronic delivery confirmation, reducing costs and improving customer service. Sensors attached to U.S. Postal Service vehicles could significantly cut fuel, maintenance and transportation costs. And a network of sensors in facilities could monitor environmental systems in an effort to reduce energy and maintenance costs or improve security and safety.

Given the explosion of connected devices, also known as the Internet-of-things, it’s natural that people would want to know just how many such devices are out there. But how do you go about figuring out just how many of these devices—like thermometers or light bulbs hooked to the Internet—are being used in a given city? The answer is apparently to enlist the services of a drone that can fly above the city proper and gather tons of data pertaining to the connected gadgets and appliances.

The battle for the Internet of Things (IoT) gateway in the connected home is hotting up, according to analyst firm Gartner. The ability to monitor and control the home as a holistic platform of devices and appliances has emerged as they have increased in smartness and cellular and cable connections have improved, while prices continue to decline. - See more at: http://www.information-age.com/technology/mobile-and-networking/123459954/competition-internet-things-home-gateway-hots-gartner#sthash.XFOe8e6U.dpuf

Alex Wood is no stranger to technology. Founder and CEO of Zonkey , a website development firm based in Bath, Wood happily brandishes his newly purchased Apple Watch while sitting in the spirited surroundings of his local Brew House pub. But the pleasure is not unalloyed. He clearly loves his watch but he was hoping for so much more – more automated connectivity and interaction with his local environment, more relevant news and deals and, well, a little more than a mini iPad on his wrist.

As Def Con rolls into Las Vegas today, it is drawing the usual assortment of computer hackers, information technologists and government workers, all seeking the most cutting-edge tactics in elevating – and infiltrating – cybersecurity. But two sessions at the annual hacker convention figure to pique the interest of a different crowd: car companies.

After Apple introduced iBeacon in 2013, it was easy to imagine how the platform, which allowed anyone to use low-power Bluetooth to communicate with nearby phones, could tie digital interactions to the physical world. We would buy concert tickets after receiving a message from a beacon placed near a concert poster, read about art in messages that popped onto our phones as we passed murals, and receive personalized maps to find items on our shopping lists at Walmart. "It sounds absurd, but it’s true: Here we are in 2013, and one of the most exciting things going on in consumer technology …

Media reports are circulating wildly stating that an Apple Watch supplier has not even managed to reach the sales figure required in order to break even, which is stated to have been 2 million units per month. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Taiwanese supplier that is responsible for assembling all of the sensors and chips of the Apple Watch into its tiny case (called the system in package, or SiP). A subsidiary of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) has told investors that their break even volume is 2 million monthly units, and they have not even been able to reach that …

The Internet of Things (IoT) market in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA) is expected to expand 22% in 2015 year-on-year, reaching $14-billion in total value, according to a new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC).  The first-of-its-kind IoT forecast focuses on 25 of the fastest-growing IoT use cases in 11 vertical industries, including manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, government, utilities, retail, and consumer, while also sizing IoT opportunities across the technology stack.

Small, nondescript rectangular boxes have been tucked away on top of shelves and on the walls of 50 Target stores around the U.S. Text_Body: When the Minneapolis-based retailer flips the switch on them today, they will be able to communicate with shoppers' smartphones through the Target app, sending them relevant coupons, deals and product recommendations based on which aisle in the store they are standing in. Target Corp. is taking the next step to integrate smartphones into shopping by testing a system that alerts customers to deals and reviews as they walk through a store.

Just because you can do something, does it mean you should? That question may come to mind when considering the Internet of Things — the idea that one day, products of virtually all kinds will be connected to the Internet and integrated.